Parishioners Given $100 Each for Good Deeds

An anonymous donor in Maryland put her fellow congregants to work spreading Christmas cheer—with $100 bills. The donor arranged for her pastor at Severna Park United Methodist Church to distribute a $100 bill to each of 100 different congregants on the first Sunday of December as the holiday season began, the AP reports. Recipients were instructed to use the money wherever they saw a need. Some congregants gave used the money to tip waitresses. One took a cancer patient on a mini shopping spree. Another held a pizza party for a group of homeless people. Some recipients added money of their own, including one parishioner who bought $275 in pet food for the SPCA.

The donor tells the Washington Post she was inspired to do something positive after feeling glum in the aftermath of the year's violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. She says she and her husband own a business, and they feel lucky that they are able to help others give. "When you have that $100 burning a hole in your pocket, you're looking around. Should I fill that person's gas tank? Should I buy that person’s groceries? What can I do?" she says. "It's exciting, to have that ability to do that."

(More charitable giving stories.)